Umbrellas Open, Umbrellas Close
Each child is an umbrella: when closed it's long and squeezed tight, and when the rain starts (hand drum) it slowly opens with arms and legs spread wide. Playing at opening, closing, spinning and shaking the umbrella builds the shift from tension to relaxation and a sense of rhythm.
How to play
- Stand spread out while the teacher shows the closed umbrella: legs together, arms pressed to the body, everything squeezed tight (2 min).
- The drum makes rain: open your umbrella very slowly, arms up and legs apart; when the rain stops, close it (2 min).
- If it rains fast, open fast; if it rains slowly, open slowly: follow the beat of the drum (2 min).
- Strong wind: the open umbrella spins around and flips inside out; then fix it and close it (2 min).
- In pairs, one is the umbrella and the other opens and closes it with a gentle touch on the hand; then switch (2 min).
- The sun comes out: open the umbrella, shake it dry (whole body wiggles) and lay it closed and floppy on the floor (2 min).
Rules
- Closed: stiff as a stick. Open: big as a house.
- Open to the beat of the rain you hear.
- When you spin, don't bump other umbrellas.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, just open and close with the rain, no partners.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, open and close to the beat, with wind and partners.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, two-person umbrellas: partners hold hands and open and close one giant umbrella together.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: be the umbrella while seated, opening and closing with arms and trunk only.
- Hearing impairment: along with the drum, the teacher waves a scarf up and down to show the rain.
- Autism: give a heads-up before the wind spins the umbrella, and the child may do just a half turn.
Learning goals
- Move from tightening the body to relaxing and stretching it.
- Match movement speed to the beat of the drum.
- Express an everyday image through movement.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Hand drum: 1
Teacher tip
Show a real umbrella at the start (closed, no tips sticking out) so they see how it opens. Ask them to exaggerate the “squeezed tight” part: it's the hardest bit and what makes the game work.
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